Napoli was a free agent for the second consecutive winter this offseason, but knew there was little chance he'd go elsewhere.

"There was never a doubt I was coming back here," he said. "Everything went pretty smoothly [in getting a new contract]."

Merloni asked if the teamwide texts that manager John Farrell talked about included teammates asking if anyone had seen Napoli, after his famous day and night out on the town after the Red Sox rolling rally.

"I enjoyed myself," Napoli said. "It was a fun time for me and my friends. I wanted to go out there and party with the fans and have a good time."